Buckskinning grew out of the increased interest in gunpowder and muzzleloaderfirearms in the last decades of the 20th century. Many buckskinners also participate in other historical reenactment groups, particularly those involving antique and replica firearms, such as American Civil War and Revolutionary War reenactment.
Buckskinners' gatherings are called rendezvous after the large "Rendezvous" held during the years when beaver fur hats were the height of fashion, and beaver pelts commanded high prices. At a rendezvous, everybody is expected to dress in styles appropriate to the period, as far as possible, and authenticity in all things is encouraged, consistent with health and modern law. There are competitions in marksmanship with muzzle-loading firearms, bows, tomahawks and knife throwing, demonstrations of period skills, and commerce in goods related to the hobby.
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries.
A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun. This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading firearms. The term "muzzleloader" applies to both rifled and smoothbore type muzzleloaders, and may also refer to the marksman who specializes in the shooting of such firearms. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber.
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known as the true flintlock, that was introduced in the early 17th century, and gradually replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock, the wheellock, and the earlier flintlock mechanisms such as snaplock and snaphaunce.
Historical reenactment is an educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts put on uniforms and follow a plan to recreate aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge presented during the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire period, such as Regency reenactment.
A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s. They were instrumental in opening up the various emigrant trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains traveling over roads explored and in many cases, physically improved by the mountain men and the big fur companies originally to serve the mule train based inland fur trade.
A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front (muzzle).
A blank is a firearm cartridge that generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound like any normal gunshots. The shooter experiences less recoil than a live round and the firearm may be modified to allow a blank to cycle the action, but without shooting a projectile. Blanks are often used in prop guns for shooting simulations that have no need for ballistic results, but still demand light and sound effects, such as in historical reenactments, special effects for theatre, movie and television productions, combat training, for signalling, and cowboy mounted shooting. Specialised blank cartridges are also used for their propellant force in fields as varied as construction, shooting sports, and fishing and general recreation.
The M1819 Hall rifle was a single-shot breech-loading rifle designed by John Hancock Hall, patented on May 21, 1811, and adopted by the U.S. Army in 1819. It was preceded by the Harpers Ferry M1803. It used a pivoting chamber breech design and was made with either flintlock or percussion cap ignition systems. The years of production were from the 1820s to the 1840s at the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. This was the first breech-loading rifle to be adopted in large numbers by any nation's army, but not the first breech-loading military rifle – the Ferguson rifle was used briefly by the British Army in the American Revolutionary War. The Hall rifle remained overshadowed by common muskets and muzzleloading rifles which were still prevalent until the Civil War. The early flintlocks were mostly converted to percussion ignition.
A petronel is a 16th and 17th century black powder muzzle-loading firearm, defined by Robert Barret as a horsemans peece. It was the muzzle-loading firearm which developed on the one hand into the pistol and on the other into the carbine. The name was given to the weapon either because it was fired with the butt resting against the chest or it was carried slung from a belt across the chest. Petronels are found with either matchlock or wheellock mechanisms.
Founded in 1933, the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) is the largest association of muzzleloaders in the United States. It is known for its promotion of the sport of muzzleloading which involves the firing of muzzleloader or black-powder firearms.
The National Rendezvous and Living History Foundation (NRLHF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which holds rendezvous across the United States for the period between 1640 and 1840 AD, or roughly during the heyday of the North American fur trade. Its unofficial motto, according to its website is, "Formed for the management of the rendezvous program by rendezvous people."
The Hawken rifle is a muzzle-loading rifle that was widely used on the prairies and in the Rocky Mountains of the United States during the early frontier days. Developed in the 1820s, it became synonymous with the "plains rifle", the buffalo gun, and the fur trapper's gun. It was displaced after the Civil War by breechloaders and lever-action rifles.
Pierre's Hole is a shallow valley in the western United States in eastern Idaho, just west of the Teton Range in Wyoming. At an elevation over 6,000 feet (1,830 m) above sea level, it collects the headwaters of the Teton River, and was a strategic center of the fur trade of the northern Rocky Mountains. The nearby Jackson's Hole area in Wyoming is on the opposite side of the Tetons.
The Fort Bridger Rendezvous is an annual reenactment of fur trading as it happened from 1825 to 1840 between mountain men, Native Americans, fur trappers and traders. The event takes place at Fort Bridger, Wyoming on first weekend of September. This family-friendly event is one of the largest mountain man gatherings in the nation.
The North-South Skirmish Association (N-SSA) is a historical and competitive organization whose goal is to maintain the knowledge of the unique firearms used during the American Civil War. Formed in 1950 to commemorate the men who fought on both sides during the war, the association is based mainly in the eastern United States, there are related associations in the western United States
A pistoleer is a mounted soldier trained to use a pistol, or more generally anyone armed with such a weapon. It is derived from pistolier, a French word for an expert marksman.
The Rocky Mountain Rendezvous was an annual rendezvous, held between 1825 to 1840 at various locations, organized by a fur trading company at which trappers and mountain men sold their furs and hides and replenished their supplies. The fur companies assembled teamster-driven mule trains which carried whiskey and supplies to a pre-announced location each spring-summer and set up a trading fair. At the end of the rendezvous, the teamsters packed the furs out, either to normally to Fort Vancouver in the Pacific Northwest for the British companies or to one of the northern Missouri River ports such as St. Joseph, Missouri, for American companies. Early explorer and trader Jacques La Ramee organized a group of independent free trappers to the first ever gathering as early as 1815 at the junction of the North Platte and Laramie Rivers after befriending numerous native American tribes.
In North American history, a rendezvous was a larger meeting held typically once per year in the wilderness. All types included a major transfer of furs and goods to be traded for furs. Variations included a mix of other types of trading, business transactions, business meetings and revelry.
The fur trade in Montana was a major period in the area's economic history from about 1800 to the 1850s. It also represents the initial meeting of cultures between indigenous peoples and those of European ancestry. British and Canadian traders approached the area from the north and northeast focusing on trading with the indigenous people, who often did the trapping of beavers and other animals themselves. American traders moved gradually up the Missouri River seeking to beat British and Canadian traders to the profitable Upper Missouri River region.
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